Pressure sensing display device

ABSTRACT

A pressure sensing architecture for use with liquid crystal (LC), organic light emitting diode (OLED), electrophoretic, or other similarly fabricated displays. The described architecture includes a bottom TFT structure and a top structure with color filter material, and with liquid crystal, electrophoretic or OLED material provided in between. A piezoelectric or equivalent material is provided within the display assembly. Transmitting and receiving electrodes can be used to electrically bias the piezoelectric or equivalent material, which provides an analog electrical signal in response to incident touch pressure.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 61/621,491, filed Apr. 7, 2012, the entire contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference.

FIELD

The described embodiments relate to touch sensing digital displays and, in particular, to force or pressure sensing in touch sensing displays.

BACKGROUND

Touch panel displays are widely used in consumer electronics, such as smartphones and computing tablets, among other devices. Broadly speaking, there are two types of touch panel technologies currently used in consumer electronics: projected capacitance and resistive. Both types of touch panels typically can only sense the location and time of a touch event on the touch panel (e.g., from a finger or stylus). The location of a touch event is typically recorded only in two dimensions (e.g., x-y coordinates). Conventional touch panels are unable to sense in a third dimension to determine the magnitude of a touch force (e.g., a z-coordinate). Prior attempts at three-dimensional sensing have typically focused on the inclusion of a sensitive analog element. Conventionally, the inclusion of an analog element in what is otherwise a digital system has been costly, bulky and non-trivial.

In contrast, in concert with trends in the smartphone industry, and the computing industry more generally, touch panel displays continue to become thinner and less costly. One approach to reduce costs while making displays thinner is to integrate touch panel elements with display elements in a so-called “in-cell” fashion, as opposed to “on-cell” approaches.

On-cell approaches typically provide a touch panel display by stacking transparent touch location sensing elements (e.g., traces for capacitive touch sensing) on top of display elements. In-cell approaches typically provide a touch panel display by interspersing touch location sensing elements between layers of the display elements. For example, in one approach, touch location sensing traces may be provided between the liquid crystal layer and a color filter layer in an LCD device.

SUMMARY

In a first broad aspect, there is provided a pressure sensing display device, comprising: a cover layer; a base layer; a plurality of display pixels provided above the base layer and below the cover layer; a plurality of pressure sensing elements provided above the base layer, wherein each of the pressure sensing elements is addressable to provide an output based on a force applied to the pressure sensing element; and at least one amplifier configured to detect the output of each addressed pressure sensing element and provide an output pressure value.

An integrated circuit layer may be provided above the base layer, and the integrated circuit layer comprises a thin film transistor circuit.

An output of the pressure sensing element may be coupled to an input of the at least one amplifier.

The at least one amplifier may be a charge amplifier, and charge at an output of the pressure sensing element may be coupled to an input of the at least one amplifier by an addressing transistor.

Each of the pressure sensing elements may further comprise an integrator, and an amplifier output of the integrator may be coupled to an input of the at least one amplifier by an addressing transistor.

An output of a pressure sensing portion of the pressure sensing element may be resettable by a reset transistor.

An output of the at least one amplifier may be coupled to an input of a correlated double sampler.

An insulating layer may be provided between the pressure sensing elements and the base layer.

An insulating layer may be provided between multiple layers of pressure sensing elements and the base layer.

The insulating layer may be formed of a dielectric material. The dielectric material may be aluminum oxide, silicon dioxide or silicon nitride, for example. The dielectric material may be optically transparent.

The pressure sensing elements may be provided in a layer above the display pixels. The pressure sensing elements may be provided in a layer below the display pixels. The pressure sensing elements may be substantially co-planar with the display pixels.

The display pixels may be arranged in a grid, and the pressure sensing elements may replace display pixels in the grid at selected intervals.

The display pixels may be arranged in a first grid, and the pressure sensing elements may be arranged in a second grid. The second grid may correspond to the first grid.

A controller may also be provided. The controller may detect a blanking interval of the display pixels, and each pressure sensing element may be addressed during the blanking interval. The blanking interval may be a horizontal blanking interval or a vertical blanking interval. The blanking interval may be selectively determined by the controller between a horizontal and a vertical blanking interval.

In another broad aspect, there is provided a method of pressure sensing in a display device comprising: providing a plurality of display pixels provided above a base layer and below a cover layer of the display device; providing a plurality of pressure sensing elements above the base layer; addressing each of the pressure sensing elements is addressable to provide an output based on a force applied to the pressure sensing element; and detecting the output of each addressed pressure sensing element at at least one amplifier to provide an output pressure value.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

A preferred embodiment of the present invention will now be described in detail with reference to the drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a simplified plan view of a display assembly;

FIGS. 2A to 2G are simplified cross-sectional views of portions of various prior art display assemblies;

FIG. 3 is a plan view of an example display assembly;

FIG. 4A is an example pixel array portion;

FIG. 4B is another example pixel array portion;

FIG. 4C is another example pixel array portion;

FIG. 5A is a simplified cross-sectional view of a portion of an example display assembly;

FIG. 5B is a simplified cross-sectional view of a portion of another example display assembly;

FIG. 5C is a simplified cross-sectional view of a portion of another example display assembly;

FIG. 5D is a simplified cross-sectional view of a portion of another example display assembly;

FIG. 5E is a simplified cross-sectional view of a portion of another example display assembly;

FIG. 6A is a schematic diagram of an example detection circuit;

FIG. 6B illustrates signals at various nodes of the detection circuit of FIG. 6A;

FIG. 7A is a schematic diagram of another example detection circuit;

FIG. 7B illustrates signals at various nodes of the detection circuit of FIG. 7A;

FIG. 8 is an example timing diagram for a display assembly with pressure sensing; and

FIG. 9 is an example current-force characteristic for a pressure sensitive material.

DESCRIPTION OF EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS

Existing approaches to pressure sensing in a touch panel display have focused on the use of a separate sensor film layer with multiple cells or with separate pressure sensing traces. In a cell-based approach, an applied force deforms the sensor film layer, causing a change in the distance between cells, and a corresponding change in a voltage or current. Such an approach provides only a linear measurement of the applied pressure, and thus may be limited by the small deformation distance typical in most displays. In a trace-based approach, a non-anisotropic film is used, which limits the ability of the device to determine the x-y location of the touch, particularly in multi-touch systems.

Another known approach measures the force of a touch event by detecting deflections of a screen or housing and measuring the resulting changes in capacitance values due to changes in a gap distance between the screen and a sensing pad. Such an approach is limited by the arrangement of the sensing pads (e.g., beneath the keys of a virtual keyboard), as it is only able to detect force at the pads.

The described embodiments generally provide an integrated display assembly that has both touch location-sensing and pressure-sensing elements and circuits for driving and controlling the display assembly. The location-sensing elements can be conventional resistive or capacitive touch panel elements. The pressure-sensing elements can be analog elements integrated with and distributed among digital display elements (e.g., one pressure sensing element per display pixel, one pressure sensing element for every n pixels). The pressure-sensing elements may be formed from a material that provides a non-linear output response to an applied force, and which can be current biased to provide high gain and tenability. Moreover, the described embodiments provide methods for achieving low noise operation.

Generally, the assembly includes a substrate upon which the display is fabricated and biasing and operating elements for touch-detection and pressure-detection. The biasing and operating elements may be provided on the same layer as the display elements, or may be provided separately on another layer of the assembly.

Integration of the described pressure-sensing elements into digital display elements can be done during display backplane fabrication, thereby reducing or eliminating manufacturing steps, and the handling of multiple substrates, to minimize fabrication cost.

The described embodiments also provide for low power operation to improve device battery life.

Referring now to FIG. 1, there is illustrated a simplified plan view of a display assembly. Display assembly 100 includes a pixel array 110, a gate driver 120 and a source driver 130.

Pixel array 110 may include a backplane with an active matrix comprising individually addressable pixels (e.g., LCD or LED elements), and a frontplane for optical modulation (e.g., color filters, polarizers, etc.). The backplane may include a plurality of layers, formed of various materials such as glass, polyester and paper.

Each addressable pixel may comprise one or more transistors and, in particular, a thin-film transistor (TFT), for controlling the operation of the pixel. In some embodiments, each pixel may consist of separate sub-pixels, each individually controllable, that are provided with different color filters.

Gate driver 120 and source driver 130 are generally integrated circuits that drive the operation of pixel array 110. Both gate driver 120 and source driver 130 may be integrated into pixel array 110, or provided as separate circuits in a display module using, for example, a flexible printed circuit, chip on glass or chip on flex approach.

In operation, display assembly 100 forms an image by scanning lines of pixels in pixel array 110. Gate driver 120 provides a signal to open or activate selected pixels (or sub-pixels) in each line of pixel array 110. Source driver 130 then charges each pixel in the line to a preconfigured voltage.

Referring now to FIG. 2A, there is illustrated a simplified cross-sectional view of a portion of a prior art display assembly. Display assembly 200A generally includes an LCD device with a separate touch panel.

In particular, display assembly 200A has a diffuser 250 that serves as a bottom layer or substrate. Diffuser 250 may be a light guide plate (LGP), a brightness enhancing film (BEF) or other suitable diffusing element that serves to diffuse light from, for example, an LED backlight that produces broad spectrum (e.g., white) light.

A polarizer 240 is stacked atop diffuser 250 to polarize light from diffuser 250 and direct it through a TFT layer 235. TFT layer 235 includes integrated circuits for controlling each pixel or sub-pixel element in the display assembly 200A. In some cases, TFT layer 235 may also serve as a base layer, providing a substrate upon which further layers may be stacked.

A color filter and liquid crystal layer 230 is stacked atop TFT layer 230. Layer 230 includes liquid crystal elements that respond to control outputs from TFT layer 230 to become selectively opaque or partially opaque. Color filter elements are used to admit only selected wavelengths to cause the pixels or sub-pixels to appear to provide only light of the desired color (e.g., red, green, blue).

A color filter substrate layer 225 is stacked atop layer 230. Color filter substrate layer 225 may be a glass substrate, for example, upon which the color filter portion of layer 230 is adhered or affixed. Generally, the liquid crystal portion of layer 230 is below the color filter portion. A further polarizer 220 is provided to ensure that stray light does not escape.

Layers 250, 240, 235, 230, 225 and 220 generally comprise a conventional LCD display assembly. In a conventional approach, a touch panel layer 215 may be stacked atop the conventional LCD display assembly, and a cover layer (e.g., lens) may be affixed to the assembly.

Each of the layers of display assembly 200A may be fixed to the other, for example by lamination using a resin or other optically clear adhesive (OCA), portions of the assembly may also be sealed together during fabrication.

Touch panel layer 215 generally consists of an array of transparent conducting traces, as described herein with reference to FIG. 3.

Referring now to FIG. 2B, there is illustrated a simplified cross-sectional view of a portion of another prior art display assembly. Display assembly 200B generally includes an OLED device with a separate touch panel.

Display assembly 200B is fabricated using a similar approach to display assembly 200A, but differs in that a back layer 265 may be used in place of diffuser 250 of assembly 200A.

Back layer 265 is generally a black tape or moisture barrier layer that is optically absorbent. TFT layer 235 is stacked atop back layer 265.

In contrast to display assembly 200A, an OLED material layer 260 is provided atop TFT layer 235. OLED elements respond to control outputs from TFT layer 230 to produce light at varying intensities, or colors, or both.

An encapsulation layer 245 is provided to seal the OLED elements, and a polarizer 220 is also provided. As with assembly 200A, a touch panel layer 215 and a cover 210 are provided to complete display assembly 200B.

It will be appreciated that various modifications can be made to the basic stacks of display assembly 200A or 200B.

Referring now to FIG. 2C, there is illustrated a simplified cross-sectional view of a portion of another prior art display assembly. Display assembly 200C is generally analogous to display assembly 200A, but differs in that touch sensing elements 217 may be provided on an underside of cover layer 212. For example, transparent conductive traces (e.g., indium tin oxide (ITO), indium zinc oxide (IZO), etc.) may be coated or deposited on the cover layer 212. Accordingly, a separate touch panel layer 215 may be omitted to provide a thinner assembly.

Referring now to FIG. 2D, there is illustrated a simplified cross-sectional view of a portion of another prior art display assembly. Display assembly 200D is generally analogous to display assembly 200A, but differs in that touch sensing elements 223 may be deposited or coated atop color filter substrate layer 225. For example, transparent conductive traces (e.g., indium tin oxide (ITO), indium zinc oxide (IZO), etc.) may be coated or deposited on the color filter layer 225.

Referring now to FIG. 2E, there is illustrated a simplified cross-sectional view of a portion of another prior art display assembly. Display assembly 200E is generally analogous to display assembly 200A, but differs in that touch sensing elements 224 may be deposited or coated beneath color filter substrate 225 or atop color filter layer 230. For example, transparent conductive traces (e.g., indium tin oxide (ITO), indium zinc oxide (IZO), etc.) may be coated or deposited on the underside of color filter substrate 225.

Referring now to FIG. 2F, there is illustrated a simplified cross-sectional view of a portion of another prior art display assembly. Display assembly 200F is generally analogous to display assembly 200B, but differs in that touch sensing elements 228 may be deposited or coated atop encapsulation layer 245. For example, transparent conductive traces (e.g., indium tin oxide (ITO), indium zinc oxide (IZO), etc.) may be coated or deposited on the encapsulation layer 245.

Referring now to FIG. 2G, there is illustrated a simplified cross-sectional view of a portion of another prior art display assembly. Display assembly 200G is an electrophoretic display assembly, also known as an “e-Ink” display.

Display assembly 200G may have a diffuser 250 and a TFT layer 235. A liquid polymer layer 290 containing e-lnk capsules is provided above TFT layer 235. A biasing layer 292 with transparent electrodes is provided atop the liquid polymer layer. Transistors in TFT layer 235 work in conjunction with electrodes in biasing layer 292 to bias the e-Ink capsules in liquid polymer layer 290 to a selected orientation (i.e., either admitting or blocking light from diffuser 250).

Referring now to FIG. 3, there is illustrated a plan view of an example display assembly with touch panel traces shown. Display assembly 300 is a projected capacitive touch screen, and includes a plurality of transmitter traces 310 (shown as vertical traces) and a plurality of receiver traces 320 (shown as horizontal traces) forming a touch sensing grid. Traces 310 and 320 are electrically conductive and substantially optically transparent in order to be overlaid on a display pixel array 350. For example, the traces may be formed by depositing ITO or IZO on a glass substrate. Moreover, transmitter traces 310 are electrically insulated from receiver traces 320, for example with an intermediate insulating barrier formed of glass or some other dielectric.

In operation, a driver circuit 312 applies a voltage to the transmitter traces 310 to create an electrostatic field. In the absence of an external stimulus (e.g., finger or stylus), the electrostatic field is uniform across the grid. Each intersection of a transmitter and receiver trace forms a capacitor, which has a corresponding capacitance that can be measured by a receiver circuit 322.

When a conductive object contacts the panel, the uniform electrostatic field becomes locally distorted. This distortion causes a change in capacitance (e.g., reduction in mutual capacitance) at an intersection of the transmitter and receiver traces. This change in capacitance can be determined by measuring a voltage on each of the receiver traces 320, to identify the location of a touch event on the grid.

Typically, there are between 10 to 16 transmitter traces 310, and 10 to 16 receiver traces 320, resulting in between 100 to 256 distinct touch locations. Traces are typically between 4 to 6 mm in width, to capture a typical finger touch.

Display pixel array 350 has a portion 410 consisting of a subset of the pixel array 350.

Referring now to FIG. 4A, there is illustrated an example pixel array portion in accordance with some embodiments.

Pixel array portion 410A may be a portion of a pixel array, such as pixel array 350. Pixel array portion 410A generally includes a regularly arranged array of display pixels 430A, which may comprise sub-pixels. However, at least one of the display pixels 430A in portion 410A may be replaced with a pressure sensing element 420A. Pressure sensing element 420A may be a pressure sensing element as described herein.

Referring now to FIG. 4B, there is illustrated another example pixel array portion in accordance with some embodiments.

Pixel array portion 410B may be a portion of a pixel array, such as pixel array 350. Pixel array portion 410B generally includes a regularly arranged array of display pixels 430B, which may comprise sub-pixels. Each of display pixels 430B may have a corresponding pressure sensing element 420B, which may be co-located adjacent to, or even integrated with, the display pixel 430B. In some cases, only a subset of display pixels 430B has a corresponding pressure sensing element 420B, although the grid pattern may be spaced to accommodate the omitted pressure sensing elements. Pressure sensing element 420B may be a pressure sensing element as described herein.

Referring now to FIG. 4C, there is illustrated another example pixel array portion in accordance with some embodiments.

Pixel array portion 410C may be a portion of a pixel array, such as pixel array 350. Pixel array portion 410C generally includes a regularly arranged array of sub-pixels 431, 432 and 433, each of which may correspond to a different color. However, at least one of the sub-pixels may be replaced with a pressure sensing element 420C. Pressure sensing element 420C may be a pressure sensing element as described herein.

The arrangements of pixel array portion 410A, 420B or 420C may be mixed, repeated or altered throughout a large display assembly, causing the display assembly to have a regular or semi-regular arrangement of the respective pressure sensing elements. In general, the number and spacing (pitch) of pressure sensing elements may determine the degree of sensitivity to pressure. For example, relatively few pressure sensing elements may be used for a high sensitivity device. However, to provide more fine-grained sensitivity detection, a larger number of pressure sensing elements may be used.

Referring now to FIG. 5A, there is illustrated a simplified cross-sectional view of a portion of an example display assembly in accordance with some embodiments. Portions of the example display assembly, such as a diffuser, polarizer layers, and adhesive layers, are omitted to aid in understanding. Display assembly portion 500A is generally an in-plane switching (IPS) display device with pressure sensing ability.

Display assembly portion 500A has an integrated circuit layer 535, which includes an integrated circuit substrate 534 and an interlayer dielectric 536. Integrated circuit layer 535 may be a TFT layer including a TFT substrate 529, which may act as the base layer. A plurality of display pixel electrodes 571 are provided atop interlayer dielectric 536. In addition, a pressure sensing electrode 572 is also provided atop interlayer dielectric layer 536. Both types of electrode may be provided by, for example, deposition in an integrated circuit fabrication process, or post-fabrication by mechanical application.

Pressure sensing electrode 572 is electrically coupled to a detection circuit 537 via a conductor 539. Detection circuit 537 may comprise one or more thin film transistors, for example. Examples of detection circuits are described herein with reference, for example, to FIGS. 6A and 7A. One or more common voltage electrodes 572 may be embedded within interlayer dielectric 536 to provide for the proper operation of detection circuit 537, and to reduce noise from, for example, operation of the display pixel elements.

Circuitry associated with the operation of display pixels is omitted from FIG. 5A, so as not to obscure description of the pressure sensing elements.

In some embodiments, each display pixel electrode 571 may also serve as a pressure sensing electrode 572, or vice versa, and there may be a combined display circuit and a pressure sensing circuit 537 for each electrode. In other embodiments, display pixel electrodes 571 may have separate circuits.

A pressure sensitive layer 570 is provided atop display pixel electrodes 571 and pressure sensing electrodes 572. The pressure sensitive layer is generally formed of pressure sensitive material, such as a piezoelectric material, a quantum-tunneling composite material, or equivalent material, that converts a change in an applied pressure into a corresponding voltage or electric output signal. The pressure sensitive material is preferably substantially optically transparent.

The pressure sensitive layer may be screen printed, deposited, or laminated into a substrate, where the substrate may be glass, plastic, polyester, thin metal, or the like in a semiconductor display fabrication process.

Each pressure sensing electrode 572 and the surrounding region of pressure sensitive material 579 may form a distinct pressure sensing element. Thus, when a force is applied incident to the region of pressure sensitive material 579, causing a compression or deformation of the region of material, this change in pressure within the pressure sensitive material may cause a corresponding change in voltage at pressure sensing electrode 572. This voltage change can be detected by pressure sensing circuit 537 via conductor 539.

Although pressure sensitive layer 570 may be monolithic, the piezoelectric effect in response to applied pressure is generally localized. Thus, an applied pressure in one location of the pressure sensitive layer 570 will produce a larger voltage change at a nearby electrode than at a more distant electrode.

A liquid crystal layer 531 may be provided atop the pressure sensitive layer 531. In some embodiments, the liquid crystal layer 531 may be an in-plane switched (IPS) LCD layer. A color filter layer 526 and a cover layer 510 can also be provided, as with other layers.

As shown in FIG. 5A, the pressure sensing layer may be separate from a liquid crystal layer. In other embodiments, the pressure sensing layer may be integrated with, or provided upon a cover layer. In some cases, the pressure sensing layer may be provided above a layer containing display pixels, or below the layer containing display pixels. In some cases, pressure sensing elements may be co-planar with display pixels. In still other embodiments, the pressure sensing layer may be integrated with an integrated circuit layer. In still other embodiments, pressure sensing material may be interspersed with a liquid crystal (or other display) material in a set spatial pattern, either full pixel or sub-pixel.

Referring now to FIG. 5B, there is illustrated a simplified cross-sectional view of a portion of another example display assembly in accordance with some embodiments. In contrast to assembly portion 500A, which illustrates an example IPS assembly, assembly portion 500B depicts an example Twisted Nematic (TN) or Vertical Alignment (VA) assembly with pressure sensing ability.

As with assembly 500A, assembly 500B includes an integrated circuit layer 535 and a pressure sensing electrode 572 in contact with a pressure sensitive layer 570.

A liquid crystal layer 581 is provided atop the pressure sensitive layer 570. The liquid crystal layer 581 may be a TN medium or a VA medium, for example.

A common voltage electrode 583 is provided atop the liquid crystal layer 581.

As with assembly 500A, a color filter layer 526 and cover layer 510 are provided. Other portions of the example display assembly, such as a diffuser, polarizer layers, and adhesive layers, are omitted to aid in understanding.

Referring now to FIG. 5C, there is illustrated a simplified cross-sectional view of a portion of another example display assembly in accordance with some embodiments. In contrast to assembly portions 500A and 500B, which illustrate LCD assemblies, assembly portion 500C illustrates an example OLED device with pressure sensing ability.

Display assembly portion 500C includes an integrated circuit layer 535, which may comprise a TFT substrate 529, which may act as base layer, and interlayer dielectric 536.

Interlayer dielectric 536 may have embedded therein a display pixel element 596 and a pressure sensing element 597.

Display pixel element 596 may be a conventional OLED display pixel, including a driving circuit 538, a conductor 589 connecting to a display electrode 571 which contacts OLED material 583.

Pressure sensing element 597 includes a detection circuit 537 connected to a pressure sensing electrode 572 via a conductor 539. Pressure sensing electrode contacts pressure sensitive material 580, which is deposited generally in the same layer as OLED material 583 (e.g., not atop OLED material 583).

An encapsulation layer 511 is provided to seal the display assembly portion.

Other portions of the example display assembly, such as polarizer and adhesive layers, are omitted to aid in understanding.

Referring now to FIG. 5D, there is illustrated a simplified cross-sectional view of a portion of another example display assembly in accordance with some embodiments. Display assembly portion 500D illustrates an example electrophoretic display device with pressure sensing ability.

Assembly portion 500D includes an integrated circuit layer 535 with a TFT substrate 529, a plurality of driving and detection circuits 561, which combine the driving capabilities of a driving circuit 538 with the detection capabilities of a detection circuit 537.

A combined display and pressure sensing electrode 562 is connected to circuit 561, and a pressure sensitive layer 570 and liquid polymer layer 590, respectively, are provided atop the integrated circuit layer 535.

In some embodiments, pressure detection can be suspended while the display is not being actively refreshed. In such a mode, power consumption may be close to zero. Pressure sensitive buttons (not shown) can be provided at a periphery of the display assembly, which can be used to trigger further pressure detection in the display when in a power saving mode.

Referring now to FIG. 5E, there is illustrated a simplified cross-sectional view of a portion of another example display assembly in accordance with some embodiments. Display assembly portion 500E illustrates an example IPS display assembly with improved noise performance.

Assembly portion 500E may be generally analogous to assembly portion 500A. However, in contrast to assembly portion 500A, assembly portion 500E has an insulating layer 599 provided between pressure sensitive layer 570 and other portions of the display assembly.

In assembly portion 500E, pressure sensitive layer 570 is provided above other layers, including the liquid crystal layer 597 and TFT layer 529. A separate electrode layer 596 may also be provided.

The insulating layer 599 may be formed of a dielectric, such as aluminum oxide, silicon dioxide or silicon nitride (each of which can be optically transparent). The insulating layer 599 generally serves to prevent capacitive charge leakage from pressure sensitive layer 570 through electrodes 572 to other layers and, in particular, a ground plane of substrate 598, which can make it difficult to measure capacitance modulation and thus the applied force.

By providing insulating layer 599, capacitive charge leakage is mitigated, and charge is transferred primarily via conductive traces (not shown) provided directly to electrodes 572, for example, in the pressure sensing layer. In particular, electrodes 572 may be coupled to detection circuits separated from the display assembly (e.g., located off-panel).

Although the described approach is shown in the context of an IPS display, a similar approach of providing an insulating layer between the pressure sensitive layer and other layers may also be used with other assembly types, such as OLED, VA-LCD, TN-LCD, and the like.

Referring now to FIG. 6A, there is illustrated a schematic diagram of an example detection circuit in accordance with some embodiments.

Detection circuit 600 uses a passive approach, and may be used, for example, to provide a detection circuit such as detection circuit 537 or 561 of display assembly portions 500A to 500E, for example.

Detection circuit 600 has an in-pixel portion 620, which includes a pressure sensing element 605, such as pressure sensing element 579 of assembly portion 500A, and an addressing transistor 610, which may be a PMOS or NMOS transistor for example. An output of pressure sensing element 579 is connected to addressing transistor 610. A gate of addressing transistor 610 is addressable, such that when addressing transistor 610 is switched on, the output of pressure sensing element 605 is coupled to a detection line 660 via transistor 610.

Thus, when pressure sensing element 605 detects a higher voltage corresponding to a touch, and when addressing transistor 610 is switched on, a higher current I_(touch) is transferred to detection line 660.

Detection line 660 is input to a column charge amplifier 630, which may for example include an op-amp 635 and capacitor 640 connected in parallel. The output of column charge amplifier 630 may be converted to a digital value by analog-to-digital convertor (ADC) 650.

Generally, there may be one column charge amplifier 630 for a plurality of pixels (e.g., line, column, row of pixels).

FIG. 6B illustrates signals at various nodes of detection circuit 600 when a touch is or is not registered. It can be observed that a voltage measured at the output of a column charge amplifier (Vout) is generated whether or not a touch is detected, although the output voltage is lower when no touch is detected. In particular, when no touch is registered, (touch is zero, and Vout is low. When a touch is registered, Itouch increases, and Vout is relatively higher.

Detection circuit 600 may be implemented in whole or in part in an integrated circuit layer of a display assembly using, for example, TFTs. In some embodiments, only the in-pixel portion 620 is implemented in the integrated circuit layer, while the amplifier 630 and ADC 650 may be provided externally.

Referring now to FIG. 7A, there is illustrated a schematic diagram of another example detection circuit in accordance with some embodiments.

Detection circuit 700 uses an active approach whereby integration of the pressure sensing element output occurs in-pixel, and may be used, for example, to provide a detection circuit such as detection circuit 537 or 561 of display assembly portions 500A to 500E, for example.

Detection circuit 700 has an in-pixel portion 720, which includes a pressure sensing element 705, such as pressure sensing element 579 of assembly portion 500A, a reset transistor 712, an integrating transistor 715 and an addressing transistor 710. Each transistor 712, 715 and 710 may be a PMOS or NMOS transistor, for example, depending on the specific circuit configuration.

In operation, an output of pressure sensing element 705 is connected to a gate of transistor 715, which serves as an integrator. In the example shown, a source of transistor 715 is connected to a bulk supply voltage, causing a drain terminal of transistor 715 to integrate the input to the gate of transistor 715. This integrated output can be coupled to a detection line 760 when an addressing transistor 710 is switched on.

The integrated output can be provided to a column amplifier 730, correlated double sampler 735, and digitized using ADC 750.

Correlated double sampler 735 may be used to improve signal accuracy and signal-to-noise ratio. Generally, correlated double sampling is a technique used when measuring sensor outputs, which allows an undesired offset to be removed from a measured value (e.g., voltage, current). To perform correlated double sampling, the output of a sensor may be measured twice: once in a known condition and again in an unknown condition. The value measured during the known condition can be subtracted from the value measured during the unknown condition.

Correlated double sampling is used, for example, in switched capacitor op-amps to improve the gain of a charge-sharing amplifier, while adding an extra phase.

In the described embodiments, correlated double sampling may be performed by measuring the output of a pixel or group of pixels after a reset is performed (e.g., the known condition) and subtracting this output from the output at the end of an integration period (e.g., the unknown condition). The reset may be performed, for example, by triggering reset transistor 712.

In some embodiments, the correlated double sampler 735 may be omitted.

In contrast to detection circuit 600, detection circuit 700 does not require that a pressure sensing element provide an output voltage concurrently with the detection and amplification. Accordingly, a user's touch may occur separately from the detection event. As illustrated in FIG. 7B, this allows for greater detection sensitivity, since detection can occur during less noisy times.

Reset transistor 712 can be activated to reset the output node of pressure sensing element 705 to a default voltage (e.g., Vreset). This reset pulse may also act to erase any material memory effect that may exist in the pressure sensing element, which could affect the measurement calibration.

Detection circuit 700 may be implemented in whole or in part in an integrated circuit layer of a display assembly using, for example, TFTs. In some embodiments, only the in-pixel portion 720 is implemented in the integrated circuit layer, while the amplifier 730, CDS 735 and ADC 750 may be provided externally.

Referring now to FIG. 8, there is illustrated an example timing diagram for a display assembly with pressure sensing.

Generally, data line switching during display programming can be a major source of noise for capacitive touch sensing and pressure sensing. In particular, capacitive coupling through data lines can interfere with touch detection, reducing signal-to-noise ratio.

In some embodiments, touch detection and reporting, including sensing of the touch events, can be synchronized with display programming quiet periods. In particular, touch detection and reporting can be synchronized with vertical or horizontal blanking intervals, or both. The vertical blanking interval may be particularly suited to touch detection and reporting, since there is generally little or no display programming signaling in this period.

Referring now to FIG. 9, there is illustrated an example current-force characteristic for a pressure sensitive material, such as a pressure sensitive material for use in pressure sensing layer 570.

As described herein, the pressure sensitive material may exhibit a piezoelectric effect or quantum tunneling effect. In general, the pressure sensitive material may have an analog response characteristic as shown in FIG. 9, with a non-linear response to pressure sensing. Various other response characteristics may also be suitable.

The described embodiments generally provide a pressure sensing architecture suitable for use with liquid crystal (LC), organic light emitting diode (OLED), electrophoretic, or other similarly fabricated displays. The described architecture generally includes, but is not limited to, a bottom TFT structure and a top structure with color filter material, and with liquid crystal, electrophoretic or OLED material provided in between. A piezoelectric or equivalent material is inserted or integrated into the display assembly. The piezoelectric or equivalent material is capable of providing an analog electrical signal in response to incident touch pressure. Transmitting and receiving electrodes can be provided and used to electrically bias the piezoelectric or equivalent material to allow detection of applied force.

The described embodiments can be fully integrated within a pixel array, semi-integrated within a pixel array (e.g., where parts of the pixel elements are re-used for pressure sensing), or separately disposed on an individual substrate and later integrated with a pixel array (e.g., laminated or otherwise affixed atop or below the pixel array).

Moreover, the describe pressure sensing architecture can be fabricated using existing display fabrication techniques and sequences, reducing complexity and cost.

Although the described embodiments have been described primarily with reference to “in-cell” display technologies, the described techniques are applicable to many other display assembly structures, including “in-cell”, “on-cell”, “one-glass solution” and laminated panel approaches. In general, the described embodiments provide analog pressure sensing combined with conventional digital touch methods, such as projected capacitive or resistive touch sensing. The various methods of fabrication combined with the accompanied methods of operation allow the tuning of analog sensitivity to provide high gain and low noise operation. Moreover, tight integration can be realized in the backplane fabrication sequence, eliminating manufacturing steps and logistical handling of multiple substrates to minimize cost. The described embodiments also allow for high signal to noise ratio, enabling accurate, fast and sensitive touch and force sensing, as well as ultra-low power modes that significantly improve battery life and device operation times compared to known touch panel architectures and technologies.

It will be appreciated that numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the exemplary embodiments described herein. However, it will be understood by those of ordinary skill in the art that the embodiments described herein may be practiced without these specific details. In other instances, well-known methods, procedures and components have not been described in detail so as not to obscure the embodiments described herein. The scope of the claims should not be limited by the preferred embodiments and examples, but should be given the broadest interpretation consistent with the description as a whole. 

We claim:
 1. A pressure sensing display device, comprising: a cover layer; a base layer; a plurality of display pixels provided above the base layer and below the cover layer; a plurality of pressure sensing elements provided above the base layer, wherein each of the pressure sensing elements is addressable to provide an output based on a force applied to the pressure sensing element; and at least one amplifier configured to detect the output of each addressed pressure sensing element and provide an output pressure value.
 2. The device of claim 1, wherein an integrated circuit layer is provided above the base layer, and the integrated circuit layer comprises a thin film transistor circuit.
 3. The device of claim 1, wherein an output of the pressure sensing element is coupled to an input of the at least one amplifier.
 4. The device of claim 1, wherein the at least one amplifier is a charge amplifier, and wherein charge at an output of the pressure sensing element is coupled to an input of the at least one amplifier by an addressing transistor.
 5. The device of claim 1, wherein each of the pressure sensing elements further comprises an integrator, and wherein an amplifier output of the integrator is coupled to an input of the at least one amplifier by an addressing transistor.
 6. The device of claim 5, wherein an output of a pressure sensing portion of the pressure sensing element is resettable by a reset transistor.
 7. The device of claim 5, wherein an output of the at least one amplifier is coupled to an input of a correlated double sampler.
 8. The device of claim 1, further comprising an insulating layer provided between the pressure sensing elements and the base layer.
 9. The device of claim 1, further comprising an insulating layer provided between multiple layers of pressure sensing elements and the base layer.
 10. The device of claim 8, wherein the insulating layer is formed of a dielectric material.
 11. The device of claim 10, wherein the dielectric material is selected from the group consisting of aluminum oxide, silicon dioxide and silicon nitride.
 12. The device of claim 10, wherein the dielectric material is optically transparent.
 13. The device of claim 1, wherein the pressure sensing elements are provided in a layer above the display pixels.
 14. The device of claim 1, wherein the pressure sensing elements are provided in a layer below the display pixels.
 15. The device of claim 1, wherein the pressure sensing elements are substantially co-planar with the display pixels.
 16. The device of claim 1, wherein the display pixels are arranged in a grid, and wherein the pressure sensing elements replace display pixels in the grid at selected intervals.
 17. The device of claim 1, wherein the display pixels are arranged in a first grid, and wherein the pressure sensing elements are arranged in a second grid.
 18. The device of claim 17, wherein the second grid corresponds to the first grid.
 19. The device of claim 1, further comprising a controller, wherein the controller detects a blanking interval of the display pixels, and wherein each pressure sensing element is addressed during the blanking interval.
 20. The device of claim 19, wherein the blanking interval is a horizontal blanking interval.
 21. The device of claim 19, wherein the blanking interval is a vertical blanking interval.
 22. The device of claim 19, wherein the blanking interval is selectively determined by the controller between a horizontal and a vertical blanking interval.
 23. A method of pressure sensing in a display device comprising: providing a plurality of display pixels provided above a base layer and below a cover layer of the display device; providing a plurality of pressure sensing elements above the base layer; addressing each of the pressure sensing elements is addressable to provide an output based on a force applied to the pressure sensing element; and detecting the output of each addressed pressure sensing element at at least one amplifier to provide an output pressure value. 